Saudi to gift 200 tonnes of dates to Afghans

KABUL (Pajhwok): Saudi Arabia would donate 200 tonnes of dates to the Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) for people vulnerable to natural calamities in provinces.

In this regard, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the nearly $1 million aid was signed between ANDMA acting director and the deputy Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Afghanistan here on Thursday.

While thanking the Saudi government, the acting ANDMA director, Mohammad Aslam Syas, said the dates would be distributed to vulnerable people in central provinces of the country.

Like other donor countries, he said, Saudi had always helped the people of Afghanistan during natural disasters, urging the kingdom to continue supporting Afghanistan.

Mishary AL Harbi, the deputy Saudi envoy, said the 200 tonnes of dates valued more than $1 million would be given to the Afghan government as a gift from the Saudi government and would be distributed to vulnerable people. Regarding his country’s assistance, he said they were committed to continuously assisting the Afghans.

Since 2001, the Saudi government has so far granted more than $30 million to Afghanistan in areas of education, health, construction of mosques and providing food items.

Two days ago, Saudi Ambassador Mesfer bin Abdul Rahman Al-Ghaseb promised $19 million in assistance for the development of Afghanistan.